After its owners declared they had hired administrators early on Saturday morning, the British regional airline Flybe has shut down for a second time.
Flybe issued a brief statement explaining that all flights had been canceled and that it had ceased operations immediately. With the collapse of Flybe, the airline brand has now experienced two failures in less than three years.
From Belfast City, Birmingham, and Heathrow Airport, Flybe offered regional routes throughout the United Kingdom as well as to Amsterdam and Geneva. The airline, which had its base at Birmingham Airport, flew a modest fleet of eight Dash 8 Q400 predecessors.
Prior to the pandemic, Flybe was losing about £20 million annually. However, a private partnership including of Virgin Atlantic, the Stobart Group, and Cyrus Capital Partners pledged to invest £100 million in the struggling airline.
However, the pandemic handed Flybe a fatal blow, and the airline announced in March 2020 that it had entered administration. There had been plans in place to rename Flybe as Virgin Connect.
But by October 2020, a business connected to Cyrus Capital revealed plans to revive Flybe, and the new airline was founded the following year. The inaugural flight occurred on April 12, 2022.
The decision to put Flybe into administration was not immediately explained by the company’s new owners, who also delayed any additional information.
“It is always sad to see an airline enter administration and we know that Flybe’s decision to stop trading will be distressing for all of its employees and customers,” commented Paul Smith, Consumer Director at the UK Civil Aviation Authority on Saturday.
“We urge passengers planning to fly with this airline not to go to the airport as all Flybe flights are cancelled,” Smith continued.
